by Ben Giesen
On August 28th, the esteemed Vietnamese-born classical guitarist An Tran will debut his third album, Ilumina: New Works for Guitar. Consisting of 13 tracks composed for Tran by friends and contemporaries, this release offers a comprehensive exploration of the range of expression that is possible through contemporary classical guitar. The project features ten world premiere recordings.
The album begins with “Bella di Papà” — a warm introduction to the lyrical side of Tran’s playing. As he gracefully traverses the tessitura of his instrument, Tran’s keen attention to articulation and dynamics allow his phrases to take the shape of wind blowing through a wheatfield. If this seems like the kind of piece that might lure unsuspecting listeners into a slumbe, composer Sarah D’Ippolito Reichert attests that she wrote it while “imagining how Tran might lull his daughter Ana-Lucía to sleep.”
No matter their theme, most classical guitar concerts eventually circle around to a piece by one of the instrument’s most famous composers. Agustín Barrios. Heitor Villa-Lobos. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. But none of those names appeared on the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s program on March 7.